Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if anyone ever took a nail file and sanded down the tips or their skinks' toenails just a bit. My male (I THINK, see the post below) likes to come out and get on my arms and wander around the lizard room and when he is on me I always end up with lots of little scratches if I have short sleeves on. It wouldn't be enough that he couldn't hold on to his branches, I don't think, just enough that he wouldn't do so much damage to my skin.

Secondly, my three are often shedding bits of their skin and I'm wondering if the humidity is too low for them or if this is common. They have a large water bowl and I mist them. Their large cage is wooden, has a dirt floor and is screen on only one side. I haven't checked the humidity level lately but I can.

Lucy
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Lucy
www.smalldragons.com

Hmmmm. I could have sworn that I already responded to this a few days ago, but I don't see it here. Odd.
Here's what I said:

You should be able to just trim the nails with clippers like you would for a dog or cat.

PTS normally shed in large patches, rather than in one piece like a snake. However, continual shedding is not normal. Could be that the skin is taking a long time to come off because of low humidity, or it could be that there is some problem causing repeated ecdysis. If you humidity is okay (~70%), check for external parasites (mites, ticks, etc) that may be the root of the problem.